November 13, 2008

First Lady Debates

Emily Bazelon and Rebecca Traister are debating the image and reality of Michelle Obama.
Traister criticizes Michelle's "mom-ification" by the media. There's no
doubt that's been happening. But the source for the momification isn't
just media conservatism -- the message is coming in large part directly
from the Obama team. Folks like Valerie Jarrett are hitting the airwaves to reassure America that Michelle won't be a "meddler" like Hillary Clinton.
No matter what Michelle's level of involvement in crafting this image
-- which is, of course, dictated by trying to avoid the mess Hillary
got herself into in 1993 -- there's no doubt that the role of first
lady involves fulfilling arch-traditional notions of wifely duty. For
that reason, it's difficult, even painful, to contemplate first ladydom
in the afterglow of Clinton's historic run for the presidency.

Bazelon, for her part, says she isn't "distressed" about the news
that Michelle is focusing mostly on moving the family to D.C. and
settling the girls into school. "I hope so!" she writes. "Because I
want my president-elect working on other pressing matters like our
economic crisis." If we're able to divorce image from reality, Bazelon
writes, it is clear the Obamas have a marriage of equality and that
Michelle is planning on wielding her first lady power to feminist good
by speaking out on behalf of working mothers and military families.

And I do agree we have to keep the reality of Michelle separate from
her highly polished image. One of my favorite anecdotes about the
Obamas is that they met when she was his internship supervisor at
Chicago law firm Sidley Austin. That Barack Obama was
attracted to his boss suggests he's deeply comfortable with women in
power and with powerful women -- and I love that about him. I only wish
all of America was so comfortable with those concepts. If we were,
there might be less of a need for Obama's inner circle, including
Michelle, to highlight our new first lady's mommy qualities.